As good an explanation as any.

if that is what it takes, then buddhism is not for me, since i do not believe in reincarnation or afterlives. however, i am not at ALL sure that is actually what buddhism requires.

g

I believe we learn something about our past existence while living this one - maybe no specifics but we learn to recognize clues. What happens after our body/shell dies depends on how much we've learned in this life, what are intensions have been and the good works we've done. All that determines the karma you'll have the next time around.